Happy Mogloween to Me
by DixPixie
Summary: Mogloween only comes once a year, and what better way to celebrate than by bashing some monster heads? The Cauldron Sisters have prepared a little surprise for our heroine, and it definitely gives her a good old-fashioned Mogloween fright. Thought I would upload this. It is October, after all.


I trudged back to the Cauldron Sisters' camp, burlap bags full to bursting with mognip-contaminated candy slung over my shoulders. The full moon shone bright in the sky, illuminating the forest with light perfect for the ambience of Mogloween. The Sisters sat idly in the wide clearing, Bubble playing with her cursed twin, Trouble pouring over recipe and spell books (most likely searching for a way to save their business), and Toil standing over Myx, her hands gripping the Doom Cauldron's rim and looking thoughtfully into the swirling liquid within. I cleared my throat loudly and all three looked up.

Trouble was the first to rush over, tears filling her eyes as she thanked me again and again. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Karin! You're saving our business! I don't know how to thank you!"

"It's ok, Trouble," I laugh, "but… would you mind taking some of this candy off my hands? My back is killing me!"

"Oh! Of course!" with a simple flick of her finger, the bags lifted into the air and floated in a neat orderly line, falling back to earth next to the cauldron.

"Yes, thank you Karin," said Toil as she sauntered over, "You've done a great deal for us. We are in your debt." A slightly disconcerting smile graced her lips as she added, "in fact, I believe you deserve a reward."

"That's really not necessary," I replied, a little put-off by the glint in the witch's eye. "You're already paying me to do this, you don't need to do anything else."

"Aw, c'mon!" piped Bubble, who had materialized next to her older sister, the little black cat of her twin's cursed form cradled in her arms, "we made a special suit of armor just for you!"

"It will make it easier for you to fight the monsters that impede you progress." Offered Toil.

"And with those guys out of the way, you can gather candy even faster!" said Trouble. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her. Trouble certainly cared for the family business a lot.

"Well…" _C'mon Karin, they're offering you armor! You deserve a reward; think about everything you've done for them! _This was true. I had gone door to door, to every house within Doomwood forest, wrestling candy from monsters and candy-obsessed Moglins alike. On the other hand, the sisters were witches, and I had only known them for a few short hours. This 'reward' might turn me into their mindless candy-collecting slave. But… it _was_ free armor…

"Alright, lay it on me," I finally conceded.

"Excellent!" cried Toil, "One moment please." And the sisters huddled, whispering excitedly to each other. A hollow snickering caught my attention. I turned and fixed Myx with a glare.

"What are you laughing at?" I challenged.

"Noooothing…" the cauldron answered, grinning a mad cast-iron smile.

I turned my back on the cauldron. I had never liked him, which might have had something to do with his obsession with world domination. The sisters had abandoned their huddle, the three of them (four if you counted the cat) standing side by side, evidently trying to hide something behind them.

"Are you ready?" Toil asked, the glint mirrored in the eyes of her sisters.

I swallowed, suddenly unsure. "Yes?" I replied, beginning to question my sanity.

Toil approached me. "Hold out your hands and close your eyes," she instructed. Reluctantly, I did as I was told. A moment later, something heavy was dropped into my hands and I slowly opened my eyes to find… a potted plant.

I raised my eyebrow at the sisters. "This is a plant," I told them. Their smiles only stretched wider.

"Oh, we know," Bubble said, giggling sweetly.

"Just hold still and it won't hurt a bit!" Trouble said in a voice that might have been soothing if not for the manic grin on her face.

"Wha-" I started, but let out a short and decidedly un-heroic scream as the plant gave a sharp jerk in my hands. The tiny curly vines of the plant were growing rapidly, quickly spilling over the rim of the pot. I dropped it in surprise and the ceramic shattered, spilling dark soil across the ground. I skittered back and watched with a mixture of fascination and horror as the greedy roots of the plant pushed into the earth, growing thicker with the passing seconds. Something coiled tight around my ankle and pulled my leg out from beneath me, sending me crashing to the ground. I looked up in surprise to see a thick vine twined around my foot. Instantly my hand flew to the pommel of my sword and had pulled the blade from its loop when the vine gave a violent jerk and sent it spinning from my grasp. It fell to the ground in a shower of dust, just out of my reach. Flipping over onto my stomach, I dug my fingers into the dirt and reached for it, clawing with all my strength as the plant started to reel me in. "What the hell?!" I snarled at the sisters, still reaching in vain for my weapon as the plant pulled me further and further from it, "What is this?!"

"It's a surprise!" Bubble giggled.

"Just relax! It'll be over soon!" Trouble shouted back to me.

I felt more vines join the first, falling heavily across my legs. Flipping back onto my back I kicked, desperately trying to dislodge the plant, only to stop at the sight of the thing the little plant had become. It had more than tripled in size since I had dropped it. Wide leaves had blossomed out, roots as thick as my leg anchoring it to the soil, vines like enormous snakes writhing in the center. More shot out, faster than I could blink and ensnared my hands, yanking my arms hard and nearly pulling my shoulders out of their sockets. The vines pulled hard again and I was hoisted into the air until I stood crucified above the writhing mass of vegetation below, my arms and legs buried halfway into coils of dark green tendrils. I pulled savagely in an attempt to both escape from the crazy plant, and to mask my growing feeling of terror. The plant punished me by squeezing tight. The sisters stood a safe distance away, looks of wonder on their faces.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Toil was saying.

"It will be interesting to see what happens next," Trouble replied and I was aghast to see her scribbling furiously on a small notepad.

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?" I screamed at them, thrashing in my bonds, "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?!"

"I thought we said it was a surprise," Bubble scolded me, "It's not even over yet!"

As if on cue the entire plant shuddered and the vines sprang to life, spiraling up from the body of the plant. They formed a dome around me and I had just enough time to scream in frustration before the world outside disappeared behind a wall of green.

I was suspended inside the dark cocoon, breathing hard through a mixture of rage and fear. It was dreadfully silent, the only sound coming from the rustling of the plant as it started to wind itself further up my limbs. I growled and pulled hard at the vines restraining me, feeling too much like a wild animal in a cage. Panic induced adrenaline flooded my system as my movements were restricted by the tendrils creeping up my elbows. I whipped my head about, desperately seeking escape. I was forced to stop when I saw what the plant was _really _doing. I didn't stifle the scream as I watched the tendrils grow _through_ my armor, cutting into it like water. It spread like a disease, devouring metal and replacing it with plant matter. I felt the little vines snake through my finger, swarming over my hand and feeling like I had just stuck it into a bucket of live worms. By this point, terror had completely overtaken anger. My breath came quick and ragged, my eyes bulged, and only pure primal fear dominated my brain. I strained my neck, trying to get my face as far away as possible as the plant reached my shoulder and began spreading to my chest, letting out a sob when a thin tendril shot out and curled around my neck. The vines spread like roots, making crack-like shapes through my breastplate. They joined with the tendrils that had already eaten through the entirety of my legs and were now inching around my hips. I closed my eyes and felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. So consumed by terror was I that I ceased to care about looking heroic, reduced to praying to whatever higher power would listen to release me from this horror. I gasped as I felt the vines tighten viciously around my body, cutting off feeling to my limbs. _Please, just let it end! _The scream echoed through my head.

Then, all at once, I was free.

Stars and earth rotated around me as my body went sailing through the air. I hit the ground with a soft _oof!_ and rolled to a stop on my back. I took in a shaky breath, paralyzed by the grip of terror. Little dots danced in my vision and I had to blink several times to bring the three figures standing over me into focus.

"Marvelous! It worked!" Trouble was saying to Toil.

"Yes," Toil nodded knowingly, "I'm quite happy with the results."

"Wow Miss Karin! You look great!" Bubble beamed.

"Mew!" said the other Bubble, gazing at me with large yellow eyes.

"Wha… jus' happened?" I asked in a slurry voice. My head was spinning with the sudden reintroduction to the ground and I lifted a hand to rub my temples. What met my face was rough and dry. It didn't _feel_ like my armor… my eyes widened at the sight of the dark green material that covered my hand, forming perfectly to the shape of my fingers and the curve of my palm. Stretching my arm before me, I saw that the changes didn't stop there. My arm was sheathed in green form-fitting stuff, adhering to my skin and flowing smoothly with each movement. Hard shells of dark orange surrounded my forearms, and the same material cupped my shoulders, out of which protruded spikes at least three inches long. I sat up with a sudden burst of energy, finding that the rest of me was also covered in green. "Wha…" I started dumbly, looking over my shoulder at the sisters who studied me with expressions of satisfaction.

"Allow me to explain," Trouble said, lifting her skirt to approach the plant. I narrowed my eyes at the sight of the fiendish thing that now sat innocently, looking like nothing more than a common pumpkin vine. "This little marvel here is a spell of our own devising. It's a symbiotic plant that can bond to the hero, forming a very strong, very responsive suit of armor." As she spoke, I pulled myself unsteadily to my feet, supported by the thick root-like structure that had replaced my boots. I shivered at the sensation of the vines sliding over my skin, still trying to get over the shock of what had happened.

"Let me get this straight…" I stuttered, then cleared my throat and tried again, "That… plant… was the armor that you made me? I almost died of fright sitting inside that thing! Why didn't you tell me that _before_ I nearly had a heart attack?!"

"Because," Toil said, "it made the experiment much more interesting."

"Experiment?" I hissed, "THAT was an EXPERIMENT?! You mean to tell me you had NO IDEA what that was gonna do to me?!"

"Nope!" piped Bubble, "This is the first time we've ever used it, but we knew that you could handle it!"

"Son of a-!" I stopped myself for Bubble's sake, "That thing could've killed me!" I pointed an accusatory finger at the little bastard plant.

"Calm down," Toil told me, rolling her eyes, "The point is that it didn't kill you, and now it will be easier for you to slay the monsters that impede your progress."

"That's right!" Trouble said, "The armor is linked to you. It'll respond to your will and is capable of many things."

I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at each sister in turn and thinking about what they had told me. "Responds to my will, you say?" I said more to myself than the sisters. I flexed my fingers, feeling how the fibers stretched and retracted with the movement. I tightened my hand into a fist and instantly the vines jumped to life, twisting up my arm and pulling into a point; a blade of shiny green extending at least a foot from my fingertips. I jumped at the sudden change, relaxing my fingers and causing the blade to retract. Placing a hand on my forearm I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. "Okay, I'll admit that was pretty cool."

"You'll discover other things that armor can do the more you use it," Toil said. She had come up to me, my sword lying flat in her outstretched hands. I had taken it with a grateful smile when the armor came alive again, engulfing the blade and shaping it as it did my armor. The grip became long and slim in my hands, flaring at the tip into a sweeping curve. What was once my blade was now an elegant scythe, the same dark green that I wore. The weight felt familiar in my hands, a reminder that my sword was still in there somewhere. Looking down at the reshaped weapon in hand, my smile faltered. "This… isn't permanent, is it?" I ask Toil, looking her in the eye. She smiled gently.

"Don't worry," she said, "If ever you feel like removing the armor, come and see us. The spell will be available to you as long as we're here." I felt the grin return, the innumerable ideas of what I could do with the armor that night rushing through my head. I strode past Toil and faced the darkened forest of Doomwood. The howling of monsters could be heard echoing through the trees. My grin stretched wider as I slung the scythe over my shoulder, taking a deep breath of the crisp, autumn night air.

"Well then," I said confidently, "I guess I'd better take this baby for a test run," I flashed a smile back at the sisters, "Besides, there's still a lot of candy I need to get back."

"Bye, miss Karin!" Bubble waved to me. I dove into the trees, feeling sorry for the next monster that crossed my path.

Happy Mogloween to me.


End file.
